by Donald Wood
Last updated: 8:36 AM ET, Wed March 1, 2023
United States President Joe Biden called on the country's top airlines to eliminate family seating fees after several carriers-including American, Frontier and United-have already changed their customer service plans.
According to Reuters.com, President Biden and his administration said that travelers should not have to pay extra to sit with their children and it's "time for more airlines to follow suit."
"Baggage fees are bad enough," Biden said. "Airlines can't treat your child like a piece of baggage."
Earlier this week, American Airlines revealed it would guarantee that children will be seated next to an accompanying adult. Last week, United Airlines announced an improved family seating policy that makes it easy and free for children to sit with their families.
Frontier Airlines also revealed plans to enhance its booking system to ensure that children under a certain age will be seated with at least one responsible adult in their party.
As part of President Biden's plan, the U.S. Department of Transportation will introduce a government dashboard next week that outlines which airlines have committed to eliminating fees associated with children sitting with their families.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the family seating dashboard would "show which airlines guarantee families can sit together for free."
An Airlines for America spokesperson said the carriers it represents do not charge for family seating, while officials from Delta Air Lines told Reuters it "does not charge family seating fees and regardless of the ticket class purchased, will always work with customers on a case-by-case basis to ensure their family seating needs are met."
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